Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South shows support to the city’s firefighters

Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South, Andrew Pakes, joined fire fighters and their families at Great Holm on Saturday to show his support for their current pension battle with the government.

Saturday marked the last of eight days of action by fire fighters across the country to highlight government plans to change their pension rights without any discussion.

The government is trying to extend the retirement age of fire fighters from 55 to 60 years old despite serious concerns about the safety implications of such a move.

Firefighters are worried that older staff will be less able to tackle major fires.

The FBU says it fears many members could fail the fitness tests required to remain on active duty in their late 50s, and therefore have to leave the service, and losing out on some of their pension entitlement dispite many years of service.

Mr Pakes said: “Firefighters are amongst the most trusted professions in the country and really show off the best of public service in action.

“I was really pleased to meet firefighters and their families at Great Holm at the weekend to hear more about the dispute and how the government’s changes could leave both firefighters and the public in Milton Keynes at risk.

“It was great to hear so many passers by honking their car horns and giving a thumbs up to the firefighters taking action.

“Ministers now need to get back to the negotiating table to end this dispute and avoid firefighters having to take any further action. Our firefighters are there to serve the public and deserve better from our government.”